I wrote novels in the Republic of China

That afternoon, under Sang Jingying's encouragement, Sang Jingxiong wrote a lot of letters and earned enough twenty copper coins a day.

On the way home, he looked at Sang Jingyun smugly: "I wrote more than a dozen letters this afternoon and earned more than you. In the future, I will support the family and I won't buy mooncakes for you to eat."

Sang Jingyun said, "Uncle Hong Xu came to me today and asked me to help write a comic book. He would give me a silver dollar for each volume I finished. This afternoon, I have finished one volume. You need to write more than a hundred letters to earn that much."

Sang Jingxiong immediately asked: "You earn so much, can we eat meat every day?"

Sang Jingyun said: "No, the family still owes foreign debts, we have to pay them off first."

Sang Jingxiong was unhappy: "This is the money my father owes, why do you want us to pay it back?"

Sang Jingyun glanced at Sang Jingxiong and said, "If you can do without your parents, relatives and friends, then you don't have to pay it back."

Sang Jingyun also felt that Sang Xuewen should pay back the money, but Sang Xuewen could not.

Those who lent them money, such as Sang Qian's family and Alan, were not rich.

They can't just not pay back the money.

Sang Jingxiong's face was full of indignation.

Sang Jingyun pretended not to see it. She disliked both Sang Xuewen and Sang Jingxiong.

Needless to say, Sang Xuewen is a bit selfish, as for Sang Jingxiong.

When the original owner of this body and Sang Jingying were both two or three years old, Lu Ying became pregnant again, so she was taught to take good care of her younger siblings since she was young.

They don't think only of themselves and they don't fight with their brothers and sisters for things.

Sang Jingxiong was different. Lu Ying didn't become pregnant again until Sang Jingxiong was five years old. By then, Sang Jingxiong had already been raised to be a little overbearing.

After Sang Jingli was born, Sang Jingxiong did not restrain his temper. No matter what was available at home, he wanted the best.

The crying child gets candy. Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying did not compete with him, and Sang Jingli was too young to compete, so Sang Jingxiong got a lot of benefits.

After a long time, his temperament became stable.

But he is still a child. No matter how much trouble he makes, he will be afraid when his family members start to fight.

Sang Jingyun had a female classmate in his previous life. Her parents favored boys over girls, so they gave birth to a son as a second child. The son was spoiled by his parents and was very naughty. He even beat his sister.

One day, her female classmate couldn't stand it anymore and beat her brother severely. Since then, the brother became obedient, and even when they grew up, they were still afraid of their sister.

Sang Jingxiong is very afraid of Sang Jingying now.

Sang Jingyun was in a very good mood today, so he discussed with Sang Jingying about going to buy some meat.

But when they arrived at the meat shop, they found that all the pork had been sold out.

There were no refrigerators in those days, and if the meat was not sold out, it would go bad the next day. Therefore, butchers would rather prepare less meat than more.

It was common for the meat to be sold out by evening.

However, pork is not available, but cooked food is available. The cooked food store sells pickled duck, roast chicken, braised pig's head, braised tofu, etc.

Sang Jingyun asked about the price and ended up not buying chicken or duck. Instead, he bought some cheap braised chicken liver and braised tofu.

The chicken livers and hearts were braised together. She bought four pairs, plus seven pieces of braised tofu, which cost her a total of fifteen copper coins. Because she had no utensils to serve them, she spent five copper coins to buy a bowl and took them home.

The braised food smelled delicious. The three of them were craving for it all the way. When they got home, even the timid Sang Jingli came over and stared at the bowl of braised food.

Sang Qian took a knife to cut the chicken liver, and stuffed a chicken heart into Sang Jingli's mouth.

When Sang Jingxiong saw it, he immediately came over to ask for it.

Sang Qian also gave him one: "There are four chicken hearts for each of you. If you eat them, there will be none left."

Sang Jingxiong ate it in one bite.

The whole family enjoyed the meal very much, and they were even happier after Sang Jingyun told them about writing picture books.

A comic book has a little over a thousand words. If you calculate it at two yuan per thousand words, you can earn two silver dollars.

But Sang Jingyun told his family that the fee for one volume was one silver dollar.

If you calculate it this way, after writing a whole set of books, I can earn about 70 or 80 silver dollars. With that, I can buy some things for the family and pay off the money I owe to Sang Qian's brothers from her mother's family. There won't be anything left, which is just right.

Given their family's situation, they cannot let Sang Xuewen and Sang Jingxiong know that there is spare money at home.

However, I can tell the truth to Sang Qianshi and Sang Jingying in private, so that they won't be worried all day long because of having no money.

Having written a lot during the day, Sang Jingyun didn't want to write anymore at night.

She called Sang Jingying to the house where she and Sang Qian lived, and told him that the manuscript fee was two yuan per thousand words. She then said, "Aying, if you finish writing the comic strip of Journey to the West sooner, you can get the manuscript fee sooner. Can you write it with me?"

"Of course you can, but sister, I've never written one." Sang Jingying was a little conflicted.

Sang Jingyun said, "It's not difficult to write. Just write this story the same way you normally write letters to others."

There are not many books worth reading these days. Sang Jingying had read Journey to the West before. Sang Jingyun was flipping through the book while telling him how to write a comic strip: "For example, for the section about Gao Laozhuang, the book could be called Pigsy Carrying His Wife On His Back, and the beginning could be written like this..."

It is much easier to speak with your mouth than to write with a pen.

Sang Jingyun told Sang Jingying the story of "Pig Bajie Carrying His Wife on His Back", and then he told Sang Jingying another story.

She also explained in detail to Sang Jingying the usage of punctuation.

When helping others write letters, Sang Jingying learned from her and used punctuation, but only commas and periods, no other punctuation.

This time when writing the comic book, I will use more punctuation marks.

Sang Jingyun planned to encourage Nancheng Bookstore to add punctuation when printing books.

There were no punctuation marks at that time. In published books and newspapers, apart from the text, there were only periods on the right to break sentences. Some also used spaces to break sentences. In short, it was not very reader-friendly.

Most importantly, in a few years, punctuation will officially appear.

If we publish a book without punctuation at this time, people might think that the book is a bit outdated a few years later when punctuation appears.

Sang Jingying carefully wrote down everything Sang Jingyun said.

The next morning, when Sang Jingyun got up, he saw Sang Jingying sitting at the table writing.

She leaned over to take a look and saw that what Sang Jingying had written was exactly "Pig Bajie Carrying His Wife on His Back".

Sang Jingying must have considered it carefully before writing it. There are many traces of revisions, but there is nothing wrong with what he wrote. It can be used just by changing a few words.

Sang Jingyun was very satisfied seeing this.

After Sang Jingying takes the enamel class exam, it will take a few days to learn about the enrollment situation. As for admission, the time has not yet been determined.

At this time, primary and secondary schools did not have winter and summer vacations. August 8st was the beginning of the school year, and July 1st was the end of the school year.

Hong Xu and Sang Jingying both graduated from elementary school on July 7. Since Hong Xu is still young, he plans to go to middle school next year, while Sang Jingying did not take the middle school entrance exam before.

As for technical schools such as enamel classes that offer part-time work and study, they are privately run and the school decides the start time.

Sang Jingyun calculated and felt that Sang Jingying should be able to help her finish writing "Journey to the West" before school started.

As for herself, she naturally continued to write "The Two-Faced Demon Lord".

For her, writing "The Two-Faced Demon King" is more interesting than writing "Journey to the West".

This morning, they had porridge at home.

Sang Jingyun drank a big bowl of wine and went to the county town with Sang Jingying and Sang Jingxiong as usual.

She no longer wanted to write letters, but she couldn't just ignore the situation.

We can't let those who come to write letters make a wasted trip.

Now, Sang Jingyun pointed at those who were stealing his business and asked them to set up their stalls quickly.

Perhaps God heard Sang Jingyun's thoughts. When the three of them arrived at Hongxing Paper Shop, they saw two tables at the door of the shop opposite. Two boys in their teens were already sitting there writing letters for people.

At that time, transportation was slow and letters were delivered late. Those who needed to pay someone to write letters for them might not send a letter even once a month.

Therefore, Sang Jingyun now has no returning customers, and all those who come to write letters are coming for the first time.

Naturally, these people would not recognize Sang Jingyun. When they got here, they saw someone helping someone write a letter. It was also a letter written with two copper keys, and they walked over immediately.

Sang Jingyun saw this scene and didn't think anything of it. Sang Jingying was a little unhappy, but he knew it couldn't be prevented, so he didn't say anything.

Sang Jingxiong was furious: "They are stealing my business! I was wondering why they were standing next to me yesterday. It turns out they were stealing my knowledge. Brother, go chase them away!"

Sang Jingyun said: "That is not our place, why should we drive them away?"

"If we don't drive them away, fewer people will come to write to us!" Sang Jingxiong was very angry.

"We just need to take care of ourselves." said Sang Jingyun.

"I think you are just timid," Sang Jingxiong glared at Sang Jingyun and tried to pull Sang Jingying, "Brother, go and drive them away."

Sang Jingyun laughed when he heard this: "It's obviously you who are timid. You didn't dare to go yourself, so you urged Aying to go."

Sang Jingxiong became even angrier, but he really didn't dare to chase the man away. He could only glare at the man from time to time while writing the letter, muttering the unpleasant words he learned from his classmates.

Sang Jingying was annoyed when he heard this: "Sang Jingxiong, stop swearing!"

Sang Jingxiong shut up immediately.

The young man opposite was a scholar after all, and he was thin-skinned. He couldn't help blushing after being glared at by Sang Jingxiong, but he still insisted on helping people write letters.

After two people came to steal their business, fewer people came to write letters. Even if it was just Sang Jingxiong alone, he could handle it.

Sang Jingyun simply went behind the counter to write "Journey to the West". After a while, Sang Jingying came over and wrote with her.

Sang Jingyun asked: "Jingxiong is willing to write the letter alone?"

Sang Jingying smiled and said, "Sister, he is afraid of being beaten."

Sang Jingyun also smiled: "He won't be able to write letters for long. I plan to send him to a pastry shop to help make pastries in the near future."

Sang Jingying asked about the situation of the pastry shop.

Sang Jingyun told Manager Hong everything he had heard, and then said, "We should be able to finish work early today, so we can go and take a look together later. I asked him to work because I wanted him to know that making money is not that easy. If the place is not good, I will definitely not let him go."

"Okay." Sang Jingying agreed.

After that, the two continued to write picture books.

After a morning, Sang Jingyun had written the contents of two volumes.

Sang Jingying got up early in the morning to write. Although he wrote very slowly as he kept revising, he had finished two volumes by noon.

Including the one they wrote yesterday, they have now written five volumes.

Sang Jingyun told Hong Yongxiang that they could write ten volumes in five days, but judging from the current progress, she and Sang Jingying could finish writing ten volumes today.

This progress is amazing.

While Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying were writing furiously, Hong Yongxiang took advantage of the lunch break to go to Nancheng Bookstore.

You can buy books in front of Nancheng Bookstore, and there is a printing workshop in the back.

The printing workshop has lithographic machines, disc machines, some old-fashioned printing equipment, and even a lot of wooden engravings.

When Hong Yongxiang arrived, Fei Zhongxu was in the printing workshop, leading the workers to print a collection of poems.

"Whose poetry collection is this?" asked Hong Yongxiang.

Fei Zhong continued, "It was written by an official who paid one thousand dollars for us to print eight hundred copies."
Some older wealthy people like to write something, print it out at their own expense and give it to others, or put it in bookstores for consignment.

"You can make a lot, right?" Hong Yongxiang asked.

"I can make a lot of money. It was introduced by a relative who borrowed my house. I got eighty dollars in commission alone." Fei Zhongxu was in a very good mood.

Hong Yongxiang was very envious: "You have made a lot of extra money."

Fei Zhong continued: "Didn't you also make a lot of extra money?"

As a reporter, Hong Yongxiang can also get commissions if he brings advertisements to the newspaper. In addition, if there are store openings or events, he will also give red envelopes to newspaper reporters to write news.

The two chatted for a while and then got down to business.

Hong Yongxiang told Sang Jingyun that he had agreed to write a complete set of "Journey to the West" comic strips, and that his niece Hong Yue was also willing to draw a complete set of comic strips. He also took out the first volume that had already been written.

Fei Zhongxu was a little surprised: "This little girl writes books really fast."

"It's very fast."

"Since they are willing to do this series of books, that's great." Fei Zhong continued, "Wait until she writes a few more volumes. After I review them, I'll let your niece draw them."

"Okay." Hong Yongxiang smiled and said, "By the way, I have something else I need your help with?"

"What's the matter?" Fei Zhongxu asked.

Hong Yongxiang said, "The girl who wrote Journey to the West has written a novel and is looking for someone to submit it. You know the editor of New Novel Newspaper, so please help him submit it."

"She also writes novels? Why don't you go by yourself?" Fei Zhong continued to ask.

Hong Yongxiang looked helpless: "The editor-in-chief of our newspaper has a grudge against the editor-in-chief of the New Novel Newspaper."

After hearing what Hong Yongxiang said, Fei Zhongxu also thought of this incident and felt helpless.

Hong Yongxiang worked for the Shanghai Daily. Their editor-in-chief once published an article in the newspaper, accusing some novels of being vulgar and specifically writing about brothels.

The novel he was talking about was the one that was serialized in the New Novel Newspaper at the time. It was a novel about a man who frequented a brothel.

The chief editor of the New Novel Newspaper was not to be outdone and said that their novels were exposing the darkness of society and that some people had guilty consciences and could only see brothels.

The articles written by the two editors are naturally very well-written, but the general idea is this.

Since then, the two sides have always disliked each other.

"Okay, I'll help you submit it." Fei Zhongxu flipped through the manuscript in his hand: "The handwriting is a little different from the previous one? The writing style is also a little different. Is this really written by a little girl?"

"She wrote it, but her father helped her transcribe it. When you submit the manuscript, don't say that it was written by a little girl, so as to avoid being criticized." After Hong Yongxiang said this, he thought that the current manuscript was still a bit short in number, and Sang Jingyun didn't even have a pen name, so he asked Fei Zhongxu to wait and help submit the manuscript after a few days.

Fei Zhongxu agreed.

He knew very well how difficult it was for a woman to write articles.

He is willing to help if he can. If he can train a female writer, it will definitely be a very interesting thing.

As he spoke, Fei Zhongxu went to look at the manuscript in his hand.

This novel still uses punctuation and is written in vernacular, so it is particularly comfortable to read, and the story is also very interesting.

Fei Zhongxu suddenly said, "This book is really good. If the rest of it is of this standard, we can publish it in our bookstore after it is published in the New Novel Newspaper."

"Then remember to recommend her when the time comes." Hong Yongxiang said.

Fei Zhongxu agreed immediately.

That day, just as Sang Jingyun had expected, they finished work early because few people came to write letters.

Sang Jingxiong was happy that he could write less, but he was also a little unhappy in his heart, and it showed on his face.

Sang Jingyun ignored him and took him to the pastry shop.

Seeing the sign of the pastry shop, Sang Jingxiong was overjoyed: "Sister, do you want to buy some pastries today?"

Sang Jingying said: "No, I want to send you here to be an apprentice."

"I don't want to be an apprentice!" Sang Jingxiong said immediately.

In ancient times, poor scholars would also help others write letters. They would just do the job for the sake of doing it, but they would definitely not do it as an apprentice.

He is a scholar!

"Your brother is going to learn how to make enamel, so you should also learn a skill to support yourself. If you go to a pastry shop, you will learn how to make pastries. If you go to another shop, you may have to work as a waiter."

"Can't you make money by writing comic books? Why do you want me to be an apprentice?" Sang Jingxiong remembered that when he was young, he followed Sang Yuanshan to the shop to play. The apprentices in the shop all came to curry favor with him, looking like they were worthless.

He looked down on those people and he was unwilling to be an apprentice.

Sang Jingyun said, "Sang Jingxiong, yesterday you said that Dad should pay back the money he owed. Is that right or wrong?"

"Yes." Sang Jingxiong said.

"I think what you said is very right. I also think that the money Dad owes should be paid back by him, not by us, his children. In that case, Dad should raise his children himself. There is no reason for me to raise them." Sang Jingyun looked at Sang Jingxiong seriously.

Sang Jingxiong was shocked.

Sang Jingyun added: "Before, you thought that I, a woman, shouldn't go out to make money. If that's the case, how can you let me support you? Sang Jingxiong, my parents gave birth to me and raised me, and my grandmother has always taken care of me. I will support them in their old age, but I won't support you. Of course, if you really want to stay at home, I can't drive you out. Then, you can just eat porridge every day."

Sang Jingxiong didn't want to drink porridge every day. Looking at the expressions of Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying, he knew that he couldn't refuse this.

He finally agreed to work in the pastry shop making pastries.

Seeing this, Sang Jingyun took him to meet the owner of the pastry shop and negotiated for him to come to the pastry shop to help make pastries.

This pastry shop is run by a whole family. Those responsible for making pastries are the women and children in the family. Some children younger than Sang Jingxiong also help in the shop.

The most important thing is that this family has a good family tradition.

Sang Jingyun felt relieved and planned to send Sang Jingxiong here in a few days.

As for these few days, I am still helping people write letters.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed and it was the morning of the 24th.

In the following days, Sang Jingyun wrote less of the story of "Journey to the West", only two volumes a day, while Sang Jingying wrote more, making some revisions and writing three to four volumes.

In addition, the two of them wrote more on the first day, so by the morning of the 24th, they already had 34 volumes of completed manuscripts in their hands.

In addition, Sang Jingyun also wrote a 12,000-word novel called "The Two-Faced Demon Lord" and asked Sang Xuewen to recopy the story from beginning to end.

It adds up to more than 20,000 words, so it’s time to submit it.

People usually use pen names when writing novels, so Sang Jingyun also gave himself a pen name, "Yun Jing".

The pen name easily reminds people of her, but she doesn't mind.

She will definitely go out and socialize in the future, and by then she will need an identity that people respect. Novelist Yun Jing is a suitable candidate.

What's more, she did not hide the fact that she wrote novels. Manager Hong and the others all knew about it. So there was no need to conceal it.

With this pen name, she intended to write novels that did not violate taboos and make some money for herself.

If she wants to write something that offends those in power in the future, she will change her pen name, write secretly and submit it secretly, and she doesn't expect to receive any royalties.

(End of this chapter)